but eventually the pick of the litter will see that cool tends to be shallow and after they learn that lesson and are ready to move on to something more substantial, a nerd will always be waiting in the wings.
And that's the part that has always made me bitter. The fact us geeks will be there when these wild women are "ready to settle down." We won't be out there having the wild fun, partying, adventures with them, we'll be there when they're ready to end that and become more serious. They'll have all these memories and experiences, we'll have Saturday nights watching Star Trek reruns.
Alright, my personal experiences haven't been that bad. I've been getting nookie from real females I've been in relationships with almost continuously since age 17, and did my share of drunken partying.
But the point still stands that we do miss out of something being the "stable rock." Look at every geek's favourite movie, Revenge of the Nerds - Yes Gilbert eventually gets Betty, but she had years of drunken, sex-filled partying until that point. He had his pocket protector.
I feel slightly jipped. No matter how hard I tried to get that same youthful fun, I could never quite get what I saw a lot of my peers getting. I feel I missed out of something.
No answers here, just bitterness about the downside of geekdome. We win in the end, but it's not all roses.
Actually, I still consider pine the most versatile mail client to use. I can do pretty much everything I want to, including using the "pipe" command for a few things into custom scripts for processing.
Combine this with screen, and pine is always running on my server. Just connect via ssh, reconnect with the screen, and there my email is exactly how I left it. Even in the middle of typing a message if I want. As well, no worries about sudden network outages.
The thing I do find my gmail account VERY useful for is attachments and graphics. Those I (b)ounce over to my gmail to read.
However for some things gmail is also nice with it's conversation threading. I used my gmail account when backpacking across China last summer, only downside of that is occational the great firewall of China blocks access to anything-google.
To summarize - a healthy conbination of pine and gmail provide a very productive environment for this geek.
While travelling in China this summer I saw an interesting solution to this problem. One store I visited in Nanjing there was a unit in the corner with about a dozen different cellphone adaptors hanging from it.
One could bring their dead cell phone in, plug into the appropriate adaptor and change their phone, for a fee....
I wish I had taken more time to examine the unit to see how exactly it worked, as in how much is cost per... minute? (I was in a hurry to purchase some plane and train tickets) The thing is, cell phones aren't exactly quick chargers, so I don't see how this made much sense.
However I think this was also a matter of paying for the convinience of having the proper power adaptor there, since we all know there are so many possible plug types when it comes to electronic gadgets.
Anyhow, if anyone has more information on these units, please do post!
I bought one of the last ones on Amazon about two weeks ago, and I have yet to unlock all of it's potential.
All I do if find a wifi spot, and I ssh into my box, reconnect to screen, and I'm reading my mail in pine. What could be cooler?
It's a little on the bulky side, but the screen... I have never seen such a fantastic screen. I have yet to find a website I can't read using Opera, which comes with it.
And transfering files around, scp anyone? Pulling files back and forth couldn't be easier.
It's just a shame this device was discontinued in North America, it truly is a micro-laptop as some have described it.
I wouldn't blame Google for this, I'd say Google has unwittingly discovered existing problems with shared computers and caching.
From what I understand, Google's desktop only caches what's already on the machine's hard drive. So all this "sensitive information" that it's finding is already there for those who know how to find it, and take the time to.
This is a wake up call for how much personal information is actually kept on our desktop machines.
More important....
on
Make Money Fast
·
· Score: -1, Flamebait
Canadian money is not called "confederates" - actually, that's quite offensive and really does show how the author either doesn't know anything about the world outside American boarders or just assumes his culture applies everywhere. Typical.
Duplicate story....
on
Port-A-Nuke
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Too bad this story was reported on earlier.... though the placement of the reactor has changed slightly....
The other thing I'd like to see, is the ability to vote for different people to represent me on different subjects since, for example, I tend to side with Republicans on gun control issues but with Democrats on abortion and foreign policy. Imagine being able to vote for person A to represent you on education, person B on the military, person C on foreign affairs, person D on budgets,...
That is exactly what my party here in BC is pushing for, not having to take the "package deal" when it comes to policies. In addition to this, stoping the "bait and switch" we see with election platforms so often.
Give the people a direct voice on the issues. Our current system was designed from the days when you didn't know what was happening in the town on the other side of the mountain, let alone the other side of the country. When towns became the size where you couldn't gather everyone in the town square to vote on an issue. So we had to send a representative to a central location to speak for us.
Technology is changing this, we (at least up here) have a highly educated population, computers are cheap, networking is cheap. We can create a system where to get to pick the policies you want, a la carte as we've heard about in the cable debate down south. If I want fiscal conservatism, why should I have to vote for the party that also would create socially conservative laws that limit freedoms?
A better way is possible. Actually, check out Liquid Democracy, it's a system that has really gotten my attention as a possible alternative.
(and I know all the paranoid slashdotters are going to rag on me about how computers can be compromised, electronic voting can't be trusted, yadda yadda.... it can if done correctly, we trust bank machine networks...)
Try to get proportional representation up so everyone has a voice.
How the hell do you do PR on a presidential election? Each candidate gets a percentage of the Whitehouse?
For the presidential election two changes would improve the system. First, get rid of the electoral college, make it pure nation wide numbers. And second, single transferable vote, instant runoff voting, whichever name you might call it - that would take away the "a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush" argument. You could vote for Nader, but at the same time vote for Kerry. And maybe once people catch on a bit more, Nader might even win! Yay for America!:)
You know, I would like to see this pass, I would even like to see the Betamax decision overturned. Why you might ask? Because of the wakeup call it will create.
Right now it's only a small fraction of the population fighting this, or that even is paying attention. However when the RIAA and their lawyer start suing and the VCR becomes illegal.... the public will finally wake up. The sleeping lion which usually let's the government pursue it's own agenda at will, will begin to fight.
There will be calls such as back in the revolution days, only this time it won't be led my traitors to the Britain (hey, I'm Canadian, the yanks were traitors in my eyes;) it will be those fighting for these freedoms they've become accustom to. It will force some hard decisions on the direction you want for your country, do you want to be ruled by a corporate agenda or by the freedom that America supposedly stands for.
If the RIAA pushes too far it could become the largest cultural revolution seen in a century.
That, plus all the tech companies dealing with this technology will move north and I'll never want for a job - there will always be a black market for time-shifting and the like equipment down south.;)
Instead of us whining on slashdot, we need to inform and mobilize the masses. They need to know what their rights are now and what is being done to take them away. They need to have the will to pull in the line of their government, order them on the direction to take. Maybe even get rid of the Democratics and Republicans, two parties that claim to be different but are both the same cultural poison. Come on, give Nader a chance, he has some great ideas.:)
Sounds like you've never been a manager before. What if these cost savings measures are happening because the company is in trouble of forcing layoffs? Personally, I would rather give up my pager and cellphone than see my buddy laid off.
That is a different issue. However that's a larger problem within the company if it is in an effort to save the company and he doesn't know this.
In my old company we went through a cash crunch, and every time changes had to be made because of this the CEO sat us all down and explained the situation. He might not have been able to always tell us every detail because of various negotiations, but the upper mamangement did their best to make sure we knew where the company stood at all times. If we were curious, we could wander in and chat with them, open door policy.
If they're being kept in the dark about the financial stability of this company, if they're being asked to do this because it will stop layoffs, they have a right to know, and it will make the sell easier.
Just plan bad management. But of course I'ds bet dollars to doughnuts that it's more of a "being a cheap jerk" thing instead....
As was the situation with my 'choice'. If I didn't 'choose' to apply myself the way I did, someone else would have.
But why is it a one or the other situation? I was in a position a few years ago where I bent over backwards to make myself available as well. I was known to respond to emails within minutes usually (yes, yes, no life..), and the reputation it gained me help me survive two layoff rounds. (finally got canned when I had personality conflicts with the new CEO, but that's a different story...)
However, I insisted if they wanted me to do this they had to pay for my broadband and part of my cell bill. They saw it as a fair trade for the amount of productivity they received and the increased response time. We also had an agreement that if I had to come in at 3am, I got half a day off.
This didn't stop my advancement, I received a promotion during my time there while others stayed in the same position, and received a raise during a year money was tight and most others received none. You can have your cake and eat it too, you just need enlightened management. I'd say this fellow's bosses are jerks, seeing employees as liabilities rather then assets/team members.
Be firm, make sure they understand what you're contributing to the company. Keep fighting, go higher up the food chain if you have to to avoid brain dead managers. Hopefully someone with half a clue is running the company. Otherwise... get that old CV out, because no one deserves to be treated like that. You deserve to be compensated for your dedication, no be taken for granted.
You know, I really should be more careful.... yes, our language is evolving in some interesting ways....
However unlike other languages (ie. French) which define their language, ours is defined by usage. There is no definitive "English," it's continually evolving.
The Oxford English Dictionary which is considered to be the standards in which one uses to reference the English language is no rule for usage of English, it's citations of how it was used.
It makes English quite unique and a good tracer of our evolution, as works come into and leave existance and society evolves.
There's a book that came out this year, I'm blanking on it's name, but it's the history of the OED. Facinating read, went to see a lecture by the author a few months ago. I recommend you check it out if the bastardization of our language interests you.:)
See, if I had the time and money I'd setup a company here in Canada where we don't have these insane laws limited consumer rights. Yes, it's getting worse up here, but for now I see this as the near-by safe haven for developing PVR type products safe from being sued.
Yes, importing could be restricted, but it's not stopping us from sending you guys cheaper drugs to get around that piece of insanity by your government - catering to all of big business' demands....
So look north, let us develop your PVRs, it'll be good for us, you'll have more freedom, and I can only hope we're sane enough to never let our government pass such outrageous laws.... Move MythTV's code base off-shore or north.... such a great solution.:)
How stupid can these courts get? Why on earth would someone need to take their IPs with them? If they've configured things such that they're dependent on a certain IP, they obviously have very incompetent system s staff.
This is what DNS is for, so you can plunk any IP in and have it resolve properly.
The logic is simple, the carmaker doesn't rely on software to make their buck.
The business model or car making doesn't include selling you any software, but the hardware. Software is there just to make sure hardware works right.
The Xbox business model on the other side sells the hardware at loss in hope that you will buy a truckload of games.
Ahh, not true, you're confusing the original poster's attempt to make sense of Congress' logic with the reality of both industries....
The reason car manufacturers don't release the cose IS because their business model is based on the revenue stream from "registered mechanics." Why do you think so many warranties require you to have it serviced at a registered facility in order not to void it, to ensure they make more money off you. I this were illegal and the codes were release prices would go up for vehicles, they would have to make up the money lost from knock off parts as the article says, and from you paying half as much for an oil change.
Of course some might call this a form of dumping, or anti-competative behaviour, giving you a discount up front to try and lock you into paying more later. This whole thread reminds me of the earlier article today about Sun saying hardware will be free, and the parallel drawn to cellphone plans in the postings there. It's all the same business model, lock them in for a long term revenue stream, and it's something which must be fought. You have a right to reverse engineer anything you buy, as long as you don't sell it or profit off it, if you want to find creative uses for that old vacuum as a wifi base station - go for it!
The similarity is that game makers make less money if you pirate a game (instead of buying it). Car dealers/manufacturers make less money if you fix your own car (and down pay for their overpriced service and "genuine rippof parts").
Bullshit. Most of those who want to reverse engineer their hardware do it to gain flexibility not given by the original manufacturer. Let's take the Xbox example, I know a guy who's made a beuwolf of XBoxes for bioinformatics research.... why XBoxes? Because he found a bunch cheap. Why can't he reverse engineer hardware he owns.
Or the original purpose of DeCSS, to watch them under linux. Reverse engineering is not the evil boogy man, nor should it be illegal. The parallels between a car and your XBox are there.
As for the fellow who commented about the only security on car systems being obscurity... Alright, I here by patent security through obscurity, and will sue anyone who uses it without paying me royalties... as well, being an official security mechanism now, circumventing it is now illegal under the DCMA.;-)
Alright, how many people actually have the need for a mobile video device. I mean, audio I can understand, but how often have you sat on the subway going, "I'd really like to watch a movie right now." That must be one long commute....
I mean the only use I can think of is for mobile pr0n needs, and if that's the case, I sure as hell don't want to be sitting next to them wthhout a raincoat.
Alas the website seems to be down right now.... but it's good, really! I've even been able to hack it a bit to use it as an entire website content management system. Example here.
No, even the best firewall software won't prevent all Windows holes. The solution is that a Windows box should NEVER, EVER be put on the live internet. Only behind some kind of NAT to keep the nasties out, be it a linux box or a $50 DSL router.
I have always believes that anyone with a slightest bit of technical knowledge who knowingly puts a Windows box on a world routable IP should be charged with criminal negligance.
And no, this is not flamebait, it's just the reality of Windows and it's security flaws.
My question is about the first answer, speaking about how a system can be assembled for about $150. Now first, I assume that's American dollars they're talking about. But I'm also wondering about the system itself, are we talking older technology or is that a brand new system with current parts?
If so, why has noone setup an importing business yet? Yes, I bet there would be all kinds of protectionist duties, but even with a 100% duty it would probably still be cheaper then prices here (which are already fairly cheap).
My next question would be, are these name brand parts? As in, Intel motherboards and chips, Maxtor drives, etc. And if they are, why are we allowing them to sell to us at such inflated prices? If the parts really are cheap enough to manufacture that a system can be built for $150, the profits these companys (not the retailors, we all know about their razor thin magins) are making must be discustingly large.
Of course as I said, this is all based on the assumption that these are modern machines and not old 486s with a fresh paint job....
Slashdot Mirror
but eventually the pick of the litter will see that cool tends to be shallow and after they learn that lesson and are ready to move on to something more substantial, a nerd will always be waiting in the wings.
And that's the part that has always made me bitter. The fact us geeks will be there when these wild women are "ready to settle down." We won't be out there having the wild fun, partying, adventures with them, we'll be there when they're ready to end that and become more serious. They'll have all these memories and experiences, we'll have Saturday nights watching Star Trek reruns.
Alright, my personal experiences haven't been that bad. I've been getting nookie from real females I've been in relationships with almost continuously since age 17, and did my share of drunken partying.
But the point still stands that we do miss out of something being the "stable rock." Look at every geek's favourite movie, Revenge of the Nerds - Yes Gilbert eventually gets Betty, but she had years of drunken, sex-filled partying until that point. He had his pocket protector.
I feel slightly jipped. No matter how hard I tried to get that same youthful fun, I could never quite get what I saw a lot of my peers getting. I feel I missed out of something.
No answers here, just bitterness about the downside of geekdome. We win in the end, but it's not all roses.
Sounds to me like someone bought a ticket to London hoping to get laid, and came home disapointed....
;)
Sorry, if they won't touch your pot-belly, nacho stained D&D shirt in North America, they won't touch it in London either....
Actually, I still consider pine the most versatile mail client to use. I can do pretty much everything I want to, including using the "pipe" command for a few things into custom scripts for processing.
Combine this with screen, and pine is always running on my server. Just connect via ssh, reconnect with the screen, and there my email is exactly how I left it. Even in the middle of typing a message if I want. As well, no worries about sudden network outages.
The thing I do find my gmail account VERY useful for is attachments and graphics. Those I (b)ounce over to my gmail to read.
However for some things gmail is also nice with it's conversation threading. I used my gmail account when backpacking across China last summer, only downside of that is occational the great firewall of China blocks access to anything-google.
To summarize - a healthy conbination of pine and gmail provide a very productive environment for this geek.
While travelling in China this summer I saw an interesting solution to this problem. One store I visited in Nanjing there was a unit in the corner with about a dozen different cellphone adaptors hanging from it.
One could bring their dead cell phone in, plug into the appropriate adaptor and change their phone, for a fee....
I wish I had taken more time to examine the unit to see how exactly it worked, as in how much is cost per... minute? (I was in a hurry to purchase some plane and train tickets) The thing is, cell phones aren't exactly quick chargers, so I don't see how this made much sense.
However I think this was also a matter of paying for the convinience of having the proper power adaptor there, since we all know there are so many possible plug types when it comes to electronic gadgets.
Anyhow, if anyone has more information on these units, please do post!
Oh buy a Zaurus.... if they weren't discontinued.
I bought one of the last ones on Amazon about two weeks ago, and I have yet to unlock all of it's potential.
All I do if find a wifi spot, and I ssh into my box, reconnect to screen, and I'm reading my mail in pine. What could be cooler?
It's a little on the bulky side, but the screen... I have never seen such a fantastic screen. I have yet to find a website I can't read using Opera, which comes with it.
And transfering files around, scp anyone? Pulling files back and forth couldn't be easier.
It's just a shame this device was discontinued in North America, it truly is a micro-laptop as some have described it.
I wouldn't blame Google for this, I'd say Google has unwittingly discovered existing problems with shared computers and caching.
From what I understand, Google's desktop only caches what's already on the machine's hard drive. So all this "sensitive information" that it's finding is already there for those who know how to find it, and take the time to.
This is a wake up call for how much personal information is actually kept on our desktop machines.
Canadian money is not called "confederates" - actually, that's quite offensive and really does show how the author either doesn't know anything about the world outside American boarders or just assumes his culture applies everywhere. Typical.
Too bad this story was reported on earlier.... though the placement of the reactor has changed slightly....
The other thing I'd like to see, is the ability to vote for different people to represent me on different subjects since, for example, I tend to side with Republicans on gun control issues but with Democrats on abortion and foreign policy. Imagine being able to vote for person A to represent you on education, person B on the military, person C on foreign affairs, person D on budgets, ...
That is exactly what my party here in BC is pushing for, not having to take the "package deal" when it comes to policies. In addition to this, stoping the "bait and switch" we see with election platforms so often.
Give the people a direct voice on the issues. Our current system was designed from the days when you didn't know what was happening in the town on the other side of the mountain, let alone the other side of the country. When towns became the size where you couldn't gather everyone in the town square to vote on an issue. So we had to send a representative to a central location to speak for us.
Technology is changing this, we (at least up here) have a highly educated population, computers are cheap, networking is cheap. We can create a system where to get to pick the policies you want, a la carte as we've heard about in the cable debate down south. If I want fiscal conservatism, why should I have to vote for the party that also would create socially conservative laws that limit freedoms?
A better way is possible. Actually, check out Liquid Democracy, it's a system that has really gotten my attention as a possible alternative.
(and I know all the paranoid slashdotters are going to rag on me about how computers can be compromised, electronic voting can't be trusted, yadda yadda.... it can if done correctly, we trust bank machine networks...)
Try to get proportional representation up so everyone has a voice.
:)
How the hell do you do PR on a presidential election? Each candidate gets a percentage of the Whitehouse?
For the presidential election two changes would improve the system. First, get rid of the electoral college, make it pure nation wide numbers. And second, single transferable vote, instant runoff voting, whichever name you might call it - that would take away the "a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush" argument. You could vote for Nader, but at the same time vote for Kerry. And maybe once people catch on a bit more, Nader might even win! Yay for America!
You know, I would like to see this pass, I would even like to see the Betamax decision overturned. Why you might ask? Because of the wakeup call it will create.
;) it will be those fighting for these freedoms they've become accustom to. It will force some hard decisions on the direction you want for your country, do you want to be ruled by a corporate agenda or by the freedom that America supposedly stands for.
;)
:)
Right now it's only a small fraction of the population fighting this, or that even is paying attention. However when the RIAA and their lawyer start suing and the VCR becomes illegal.... the public will finally wake up. The sleeping lion which usually let's the government pursue it's own agenda at will, will begin to fight.
There will be calls such as back in the revolution days, only this time it won't be led my traitors to the Britain (hey, I'm Canadian, the yanks were traitors in my eyes
If the RIAA pushes too far it could become the largest cultural revolution seen in a century.
That, plus all the tech companies dealing with this technology will move north and I'll never want for a job - there will always be a black market for time-shifting and the like equipment down south.
Instead of us whining on slashdot, we need to inform and mobilize the masses. They need to know what their rights are now and what is being done to take them away. They need to have the will to pull in the line of their government, order them on the direction to take. Maybe even get rid of the Democratics and Republicans, two parties that claim to be different but are both the same cultural poison. Come on, give Nader a chance, he has some great ideas.
Sounds like you've never been a manager before. What if these cost savings measures are happening because the company is in trouble of forcing layoffs? Personally, I would rather give up my pager and cellphone than see my buddy laid off.
That is a different issue. However that's a larger problem within the company if it is in an effort to save the company and he doesn't know this.
In my old company we went through a cash crunch, and every time changes had to be made because of this the CEO sat us all down and explained the situation. He might not have been able to always tell us every detail because of various negotiations, but the upper mamangement did their best to make sure we knew where the company stood at all times. If we were curious, we could wander in and chat with them, open door policy.
If they're being kept in the dark about the financial stability of this company, if they're being asked to do this because it will stop layoffs, they have a right to know, and it will make the sell easier.
Just plan bad management. But of course I'ds bet dollars to doughnuts that it's more of a "being a cheap jerk" thing instead....
As was the situation with my 'choice'. If I didn't 'choose' to apply myself the way I did, someone else would have.
But why is it a one or the other situation? I was in a position a few years ago where I bent over backwards to make myself available as well. I was known to respond to emails within minutes usually (yes, yes, no life..), and the reputation it gained me help me survive two layoff rounds. (finally got canned when I had personality conflicts with the new CEO, but that's a different story...)
However, I insisted if they wanted me to do this they had to pay for my broadband and part of my cell bill. They saw it as a fair trade for the amount of productivity they received and the increased response time. We also had an agreement that if I had to come in at 3am, I got half a day off.
This didn't stop my advancement, I received a promotion during my time there while others stayed in the same position, and received a raise during a year money was tight and most others received none. You can have your cake and eat it too, you just need enlightened management. I'd say this fellow's bosses are jerks, seeing employees as liabilities rather then assets/team members.
Be firm, make sure they understand what you're contributing to the company. Keep fighting, go higher up the food chain if you have to to avoid brain dead managers. Hopefully someone with half a clue is running the company. Otherwise... get that old CV out, because no one deserves to be treated like that. You deserve to be compensated for your dedication, no be taken for granted.
You know, I really should be more careful.... yes, our language is evolving in some interesting ways....
:)
However unlike other languages (ie. French) which define their language, ours is defined by usage. There is no definitive "English," it's continually evolving.
The Oxford English Dictionary which is considered to be the standards in which one uses to reference the English language is no rule for usage of English, it's citations of how it was used.
It makes English quite unique and a good tracer of our evolution, as works come into and leave existance and society evolves.
There's a book that came out this year, I'm blanking on it's name, but it's the history of the OED. Facinating read, went to see a lecture by the author a few months ago. I recommend you check it out if the bastardization of our language interests you.
See, if I had the time and money I'd setup a company here in Canada where we don't have these insane laws limited consumer rights. Yes, it's getting worse up here, but for now I see this as the near-by safe haven for developing PVR type products safe from being sued.
:)
Yes, importing could be restricted, but it's not stopping us from sending you guys cheaper drugs to get around that piece of insanity by your government - catering to all of big business' demands....
So look north, let us develop your PVRs, it'll be good for us, you'll have more freedom, and I can only hope we're sane enough to never let our government pass such outrageous laws.... Move MythTV's code base off-shore or north.... such a great solution.
How stupid can these courts get? Why on earth would someone need to take their IPs with them? If they've configured things such that they're dependent on a certain IP, they obviously have very incompetent system s staff.
This is what DNS is for, so you can plunk any IP in and have it resolve properly.
"I know a guy who's made a beuwolf of XBoxes for bioinformatics research"
Where is he doing the research? His basement?
Yes actually, he is. Apparently there's no much to do in Sakatchewan.... plus, a cluster of XBoxes keeps you warm on those long cold winter nights....
The logic is simple, the carmaker doesn't rely on software to make their buck.
The business model or car making doesn't include selling you any software, but the hardware. Software is there just to make sure hardware works right.
The Xbox business model on the other side sells the hardware at loss in hope that you will buy a truckload of games.
Ahh, not true, you're confusing the original poster's attempt to make sense of Congress' logic with the reality of both industries....
The reason car manufacturers don't release the cose IS because their business model is based on the revenue stream from "registered mechanics." Why do you think so many warranties require you to have it serviced at a registered facility in order not to void it, to ensure they make more money off you. I this were illegal and the codes were release prices would go up for vehicles, they would have to make up the money lost from knock off parts as the article says, and from you paying half as much for an oil change.
Of course some might call this a form of dumping, or anti-competative behaviour, giving you a discount up front to try and lock you into paying more later. This whole thread reminds me of the earlier article today about Sun saying hardware will be free, and the parallel drawn to cellphone plans in the postings there. It's all the same business model, lock them in for a long term revenue stream, and it's something which must be fought. You have a right to reverse engineer anything you buy, as long as you don't sell it or profit off it, if you want to find creative uses for that old vacuum as a wifi base station - go for it!
The similarity is that game makers make less money if you pirate a game (instead of buying it). Car dealers/manufacturers make less money if you fix your own car (and down pay for their overpriced service and "genuine rippof parts").
;-)
Bullshit. Most of those who want to reverse engineer their hardware do it to gain flexibility not given by the original manufacturer. Let's take the Xbox example, I know a guy who's made a beuwolf of XBoxes for bioinformatics research.... why XBoxes? Because he found a bunch cheap. Why can't he reverse engineer hardware he owns.
Or the original purpose of DeCSS, to watch them under linux. Reverse engineering is not the evil boogy man, nor should it be illegal. The parallels between a car and your XBox are there.
As for the fellow who commented about the only security on car systems being obscurity... Alright, I here by patent security through obscurity, and will sue anyone who uses it without paying me royalties... as well, being an official security mechanism now, circumventing it is now illegal under the DCMA.
Alright, how many people actually have the need for a mobile video device. I mean, audio I can understand, but how often have you sat on the subway going, "I'd really like to watch a movie right now." That must be one long commute....
I mean the only use I can think of is for mobile pr0n needs, and if that's the case, I sure as hell don't want to be sitting next to them wthhout a raincoat.
My bad... ignore that... my window was too small, forgot to scroll right. ;)
They're missing the one I use and love (and have no stake in, so this isn't astroturfing....), Wordpress.
http://wordpress.org/
Alas the website seems to be down right now.... but it's good, really! I've even been able to hack it a bit to use it as an entire website content management system. Example here.
People still use dialup? Wow, I keep forgetting that being in country with high home DSL/cabel penetration... (ie. not the United States)
I have seen routers which do dialup. The only base left to be covered would be road warriors and protecting their dialup connections.
Regardless, the majority of machines would be protected if the simple rule of no exposed Windows machines was followed.
No, even the best firewall software won't prevent all Windows holes. The solution is that a Windows box should NEVER, EVER be put on the live internet. Only behind some kind of NAT to keep the nasties out, be it a linux box or a $50 DSL router.
I have always believes that anyone with a slightest bit of technical knowledge who knowingly puts a Windows box on a world routable IP should be charged with criminal negligance.
And no, this is not flamebait, it's just the reality of Windows and it's security flaws.
My question is about the first answer, speaking about how a system can be assembled for about $150. Now first, I assume that's American dollars they're talking about. But I'm also wondering about the system itself, are we talking older technology or is that a brand new system with current parts?
If so, why has noone setup an importing business yet? Yes, I bet there would be all kinds of protectionist duties, but even with a 100% duty it would probably still be cheaper then prices here (which are already fairly cheap).
My next question would be, are these name brand parts? As in, Intel motherboards and chips, Maxtor drives, etc. And if they are, why are we allowing them to sell to us at such inflated prices? If the parts really are cheap enough to manufacture that a system can be built for $150, the profits these companys (not the retailors, we all know about their razor thin magins) are making must be discustingly large.
Of course as I said, this is all based on the assumption that these are modern machines and not old 486s with a fresh paint job....